The Gift

by ChaseJanePoston

Born with a gift, Danielle knew what it was like to be different. But moving to Portland is going to change her life forever. There she meets new friends. This is her story.

I guess you could say that I have never been normal. You see all my live I have been able to see people for who they really are. Lets just say not everyone is actually human. There are a lot of 'creatures' as I like to call them. And I see them for what they really are, instead of the human facade they put up. They used to scare me when I was little. Seeing a snake or a corpse like woman at 6 years old was not fun. But I got used to it. Eventually I even made friends with some creatures though it took them a long time to trust me. They all used to think I was this creature hunter they call a 'Grimm'. Apparently Grimm's can see creatures too, but they also hunt them. Well the bad ones, the ones that go astray and hurt people. But I told them that I was just a regular girl who knew what they really were. I told them it wasn't only creatures I saw, I also saw humans for what they were, whether it be nice, mean, or just plain bad. Like I said it took my friends awhile to trust me.

So here I am in my mid 20's now. I still have some creature friends, though I lost touch with many of them after high school. My best friend is actually a creature. Her name is Maci and she is what I would describe as a hare, or a rabbit. Creatures have their own names for themselves, but they are in German, and really hard to pronounce. I can only remember a few. But I can never remember Maci's , no matter how many times she has told me. I met Maci after I got a job right out of college at a publishing company. I had went to college for writing and had hoped to eventually start writing my own books. But I had to settle for the job that I got because freelance writing does not pay the bills. Anyway, Maci and I have known each other for about 4 years. Since I was 21. Like the others it took her a really long time to trust me. We work together and I can say she helps me get through the day.

Unfortunally, I have to transfer to another region of the company somewhere in Portland, Oregon. I really hate having to leave Maci to fly across country. You see we live in Ohio. Not very exciting but that's where I grew up. My parents are still alive but we do not get along very well, mostly because of my gift. They thought I was crazy when I was younger, and sent me too many doctors. All the doctors said it was a faze. But it embarrassed my parents when I would point out that their boss was a snake or that their new friend was a bear. And of course it scared away the people because they all thought I was a Grimm. Eventually my parents just accepted that their daughter was weird, though they still do not believe anything I say. So all I will be missing from my life in Ohio is Maci. I'm sorry that I took so long explaining all that but I thought the rest of my story would make since if I told you my background. On with the actually story, starting with me moving into my new house in Portland.

The movers had just left and I was starting to unpack boxes. I knew that I had a lot to do, and it was only me, but luckily I don't have a lot of stuff. I had rented a small yet comfortable one bedroom house in a nice neighborhood close to my new job. It was nice for what I was paying, and would be fine for my new life here in Portland.

' God, I am so tired', I had just finished unpacking the last box for the bedroom. I figured I would do it first so I at least had somewhere to sleep.

I had work on Monday but today was only Thursday so I didn't have to worry about getting up early. So I took a shower and got ready for bed. I literally fell asleep once my head hit the pillow.

The next morning I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock, that I seriously don't even remember setting up. ' Why am I up so early, this is ridiculous, stupid alarm clock. Oh well might as well get up'. So getting up I decide to take a run around my neighborhood, to get used to it. So I put on some running clothes, and by running clothes I mean my black yoga pants and a red tank top. I also decided to put on a black jacket because it was a little chilly outside. Lacing up my tennis shoes I grabbed my keys and cell phone, put them in my jacket pocket and headed out the door.

I started off in a jog, and started looking around. ' Wow, this neighborhood is really nice, its so peaceful and there is even a forest park across the street, I will have to check that out sometime'. Now during my exploration of the world around me I had settled down to a walk and was only about a block down from my house. But also I was so focused on looking at everything that I didn't notice that someone was behind me walking about 20 feet away.

Feeling the hairs on the back of my neck prickle, I looked behind me. It was a man in a black hoodie and grey sweatpants, but I guess his clothes really didn't matter. No, what mattered is that he was speeding up, it was then that I got a really good look at his face. It shifted, he was a creature. But none like I have seen before. His face was greenish yellow and kind of scaly, though I knew instinctively that he wasn't a snake. No, he was something even worse, I could tell in his aura that he wanted to hurt me.

'Oh, shit', realizing that he was catching up to me, I ran. And I mean feet pounding, chest breathless, like you are in a track meet kind of running. But boy was he fast. He was speeding up to. I knew that I would never be able to outrun him. So I had to find somewhere safe to hide out in. I looked around, then I saw a house. Yes, I knew it was a long shot, that there was a possibility that nobody was home, but there was a car in the drive, so I took my chance.

'Come on, please someone be home', I ran up the porch and knocked on the door, hard. ' Please, please'. Looking back I saw the man looking for where I went, I had hoped I lost him. But I still needed to get into this house. It was safe, I could feel it. So I kept pounding at the door.

Finally the door swung open, without even looking to see who opened it, I ran inside.

"Close the door!" I told the person not even looking behind me as I walked into what looked like a living room. I heard the door close and footsteps followed. Looking up at the person who owned the house that I just barged my way into. I saw that it was a man.

"Um, hello" I said. He was looking really confused at my appearance. I guess it wasn't everyday you have a complete stranger walk onto your house. There was a pause and I had hoped that he would at least say something instead of just standing there staring at me, it was making me even more uncomfortable than I already was.

He cleared his throat then," Hello". He seriously still sounded confused as hell. I felt sorry for him so I started explaining what I was doing in his house.

" I am so sorry, I didn't mean to just you know barge in here like some maniac. Oh, God you probably think I'm a nut or a serial killer that's going to kill you and sell your organs on the black market. I swear I'm not! But I guess you really don't know that, and you really don't have to believe me. Shit! I'm sorry again. I'm not really used to pounding on random peoples doors and walking in hou..."

"Woh! Just breath for a second" He said. ' Hmm, he has a really nice voice, wait wait , stop Danielle. Focus!'

Looking embarrassed, I breathed, then I finally took a good look at the man that didn't realize he may have just saved my life. He was tall, and I mean tall, but not circus freak tall just you know above average. Anyway, he had brown hair the stopped below his ears and curled slightly. He had wide eyes that were also brown. He was fairly nice looking, his features were kind of roguish. His clothes were what I was guessing either his sleeping attire or he must have been working out. I'm going to go with the latter because he had a fine sheen to his arms and face. I decided to speak again because at this point he caught me staring, which wasn't helping my case in not looking crazy.

" I am actually very sorry for just coming in here" I looked down at my feet so I could avoid his eyes.

" Well, you know I am a little confused as to who you are and what you are doing in my house at 6:30 in the morning." His voice made me look up again.

Looking at him" Oh right." I blushed. ' Stupid stupid, now instead of a crazy lady , you look like a freaking schoolgirl with a crush, great!'

" Umm, well you see. This guy was uh chasing me" ' and now you sound retarded, way to go.'

" A guy was chasing you? Why?" There he went again looking confused. He actually looked like a curious little puppy.' argh stop'

"I don't know exactly why he was chasing me, I only know that he was coming up behind me really fast while I was walking around and he looked like he was going to hurt me. So I ran to the first house I saw and knocked on the door. Again, I really am sorry. But the guy was scaring me" I kind of felt tears well up in my eyes.' Crap, no stop don't cry in front of him'

His eyes widened at my unshed tears" Wait, no don't cry. Here sit down ok. Settle down. Ill go get you some water ok?"

I nodded. I went to the couch and sat down. I watched him walk off into another room, which I was guessing was the kitchen. I started breathing deeply in and out to calm myself down. Looking around the room, I saw that there was a lot of clocks. ' Hmm, maybe he has some kind of weird clock fetish? Wait, is that a Pilates machine? Really, a dude that does Pilates. He just keeps getting weirder. Great Danielle you knocked on the door a handsome, clock man, who is probably gay. Nice!'

He walked back into the room and sat on the couch and handed me a glass of water. I took it and drank. I didn't realize how thirsty I was.

" Uh. Thanks" I said looking at him again. I sat the glass down on the coffee table.

"No problem. So lets try this again, you were being chased by a guy and you knocked on my door, that's the short version, but that's pretty much it, right?"

I nodded again" Yea, I am sorry. I probably interrupted your morning"

"Nah, its fine. I am used to it" He chuckled a bit.

I looked at him confused but he just shook his head.

" So, you feeling better now?" he asked

" Oh yes lots. Thanks again. To be honest, you probably saved my life by just opening your door so I have to thank you again. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't"

" No problem." He looked at me again. The looked down at my jacket. " You know you can take off your jacket if you want, you're probably are getting hot, especially after all that"

I looked down, and realized that I was getting a little warm. I stood up and took my keys and cell phone out of my pocket, and started to unzip my jacket. I slipped it off. As I got it all the way off, my neck prickled again. I looked up.

The mans face had shifted, though I wasn't afraid like I was the other man. Looking closely I noticed he had fur on his face and red eyes and he had the tips of canines poking out of his mouth. I also noticed he was looking intently at my tank top, though instead of being weirded out, I thought back on things that Maci had taught me about the different creatures. And from what I can remember, the fur, red eyes, fangs, and fascination with red triggered the memory of Maci telling me about Blutbad one night when she was telling me about a friend that was marrying one.

She had told me what they looked like, their demeanor, lifestyle, all of it. Luckily it was one of the creatures who's name I had remembered and I had also remembered almost everything Maci had told me. Even if it was only because I secretly had a weird fascination with werewolves and Blutbad seemed like a good substitution.

Looking back at the man, I realized that he was trying to look away from my top. I remembered Maci telling me that red makes the Blutbads instincts come out more. I quickly put my jacket back on.

" Sorry" I told him.

He finally looked at my face , after the red was gone. And his face had gone back to normal. Then he looked confused. And I kid you not, he actually sniffed the air, though I don't think he realized I could see him doing it.

" What are you sorry for?" he asked. ' Is he seriously asking me that?'

" Um, my top. It was bothering you, wasn't it? I mean because its red. I forgot that I had this top on for a second." I giggled embarrassedly. Then I looked at him again, now it was my turn to looked confused. Though I had a feeling the rest of my time here was going to be filled with those looks.

"Why are you asking me what I am sorry for anyway. I mean I figured you didn't like seeing the red."

He looked at me again" You are right , I don't like red." Then looked at my jacket like it was going to come off by its self.

" I have a fear of red. Its a phobia. Just something stupid really. Don't mind me." he said nonchalantly.

' A phobia? What?...Oh wait he must think I just saw him staring and it creeped me out. He doesn't know that I know he's a Blutbad. Duh! Should I tell him? Or mess with him? Hmmm'

" A phobia? Of red? Whats it called?" There! Hah, got him.

He looked at me, then looked slightly panicked." Uh, its called uh...Rediphobia?"

He looked at me. And I couldn't help it. I laughed. Like gut busting laughed. Seriously I was bent over holding my stomach.

" Oh God! Rediphoboia! Really, that was the best you could do. It doesn't even sound real!"

There goes that confused look again. ' Dang, maybe a should cut him some slack. Guess Ill be nice. But God was that funny'

Once I finally stopped laughing. I looked him in the eyes.

" I'm so sorry. I just couldn't help it. I thought you could come up with something better. By the way its Erythrophobia."

"Then why did you ask?" he asked. Still having that puppy dog look on his face. And now that I knew what he was, it was hilarious. I giggled a bit. Then decided to point it out to him.

" You know, you look like a puppy when you look confused. Did you know that?" He seriously didn't think that was funny, because his face scrunched up.

" I look like a puppy. Excuse me! And you didn't answer my question." At that he pointed his nose up. ' Geez! If he doesn't keep acting like a freaking dog, I'm not going to be able to focus. Danielle! Focus!'

" Okay, I'm sorry. Wow I am saying that a lot today. Anyway, I asked to see what you would say. Because I know that you don't have a phobia of red. I was just messing with you"

" Okay, now I really am confused because how do you know that I don't have a phobia of red?" 'Man that puppy look is still getting to me.'

" I guess I could spare you anymore confusion. So...I know that you are a Blutbad." I said. His eyes widened. And I swear he sniffed the air again. And I am pretty sure he knew it this time that I noticed. I think he was trying to see if I was a creature or a Grimm. But I am pretty sure that I smelled human so I don't think he was going to get anything.

"What are you? You smell human." He pointed out.

"That's because I am human. And before you ask no I am not a Grimm. Though I am sure you would have known if I was. Unless I was wearing wolvesbine. Which I am not." ' Not that I would know where to get any, anyway.'

" How is it possible that you know what I am then? Seriously I'm confused. My head hurts." Sighing , he laid back further into the couch.

"Okay, well since I am feeling nice now. I will tell you. Okay, ever since I was a little girl..." And I went on to tell him my story, of course not every little detail , but enough. So over about the next 30 minutes I spoke. He listened. Not asking any questions, for that I was grateful because then it would have just taken longer. Finally I was finishing up on my tale." And then ran to your house. And here I am."

He closed his eyes after I was done. I think he was processing everything. I was thinking too. Well I wouldn't call it thinking, actually I was staring at him again. Personally I liked his wolfie face. I guess most people would have been scared of it. But I have seen far worse things.

Did I mention that I had a thing for werewolves. ' Hmm..I wonder what his fur feels like' My eyes widened , I did not just think that. Of course knowing myself I knew that there was far worse things my perverted mind could be coming up with. Though remembering everything that Maci told me about Blutbad did not help me any either.

I was staring off in space, and I knew this because I could feel his eyes on me. 'Pay attention!'

" So...?" I asked.

" Wow. And I mean wow! I mean I didn't think there was anyone out there other then Grimm's and other creatures that could see us." He said. I knew that I didn't have to worry about him freaking out or like trying to kill me.

" Yea, well as far as I know I am the only one. I don't know why I can see them. I just can. Same with just regular humans too." My eyes widened again though. Because all through the ordeal earlier and our conversation. I never asked for his name and I never gave him mine.' Rude, Danielle. Where are your manners?'

"Oh! I am sorry again but I have been so rude. I never introduced myself." I held out my hand." Hello my name is Danielle Thomas. You can call me Danni. Though I really don't care, you can call me whatever you want. Maci calls me Dee, But I don't think you should call me that, so yea. Just Danni is fine." I laughed.

He took my hand and shook it.

" Eddie. Eddie Monroe. Most people call me Monroe though." He laughed too.

"Well I am going to call you Eddie. Because I am not most people. So Eddie, I am sorry I have stayed here for so long, I am just afraid that that guy might still be looking for me." I blushed and looked away.

" No harm, though you did interrupt my Pilates." He told me.

I had to laugh again. Because seriously. Pilates? I had to ask.

" Pilates? I saw your machine. Are you gay?" OMG! I did not just ask that." I mean. Oh God! I'm sorry. You just don't see a lot of guys doing Pilates. But of course there is nothing wrong with that!" ' Just shut up! You are just digging yourself a bigger hole'

He laughed. And I mean loudly. Kind of like I was earlier with the phobia thing. He has a nice laugh. ' Oh god.' I could have smacked myself in the forehead.

" No, I am not gay. I do Pilates because it is relaxing but more rigorous than yoga. I am a Weider Blutbad. Meaning I'm reformed. To keep up with that I do Pilates, don't eat meat, and try to keep busy with my work" he informed me.

I nodded. " What kind of work do you do?" I asked.

" I make and fix clocks" He said

That explained all the clocks. I felt a little bad thinking it was just some kind of weird fetish. I actually looked at one of the clocks. Oh my God! It was almost 7:45. I had been here for almost 1 and a half hours. Well I guess it doesn't matter. I don't have anything else to do and until I know that guy is gone, I really don't want to leave.

" Huh, you fix clocks. I was wondering about all the clocks." Now that the conversation was wearing down I noticed that I was kind of sweating because I still had my jacket on. ' Dang it! It is hot. But my top will just freak him out. ' I could hold on a little longer.

"So tell me a little about yourself Eddie. Seeing as a practically told you my life story." I smile. Mostly because I couldn't help it. And partly because I wanted to hide my discomfort with being hot. I knew being Blutbad it was only a matter of time until he smelled my sweat and discomfort. So I needed him distracted.

Soon Eddie had told me numerous things about his past. Including his family, his wild years, this female Blutbad Angelina. Then he told me more recent things, like his work, his friend Hap dying, Angelina again and his relapse, and the most interesting thing was his friendship with a guy named Nick, who was a Grimm. I listened and didn't interrupt just like he did for me. The he finished, I think it was because he could smell me sweating.

" Are you okay? I can smell sweat. Are you hot?" He asked.

I blushed but answered anyway.

"Uh, yea. Its just that I put my jacket back on and its a little warm in your house. But its okay. I have to keep it on. Because of my shirt." I told him.

He shook his head," Just because you have a red top on doesn't mean you have to be miserable. You can just borrow one of my shirts. They will probably be big on you but its better then dying from heat stroke." He chuckled and stood up.

"Thanks. And I mean for everything Eddie." Without really thinking I stood up and kissed his cheek. Then I realized what I had done and looked away and blushed.' What is wrong with me today?' "Sorry" I mumbled.

His eyes had widened just a bit but then he saw me blush and look away. He grabbed my chin so I had to look in his eyes.

" You're welcome." He said. Did wasps somehow get into my stomach just a second ago because my stomach was all fluttery and stingy at the same time. ' No stupid! You have a crush on Eddie. You like him! YAY!'

"Um..how about that shirt?" I asked.

" Oh yea, come on." He said and pushed on my lower back to put me in front of him and led me to what I had guessed was his bedroom.

It was nice. Average size. I bit bigger than mine. Not a lot of furniture. Just a bed, a dresser, a nightstand, and a bookshelf. He also had a closet. Which he was now looking in. I heard him mumbling to himself. I put my hand over my mouth to stop from laughing. He stood back from the closet holding out a shirt that looked 2 sizes too big for me but 3 sizes to small for him. He gave me the shirt.

" Here, its the smallest thing I could find. Hope it is ok." He smiled sheepishly.

I smiled back," Its fine thank you."

All of a sudden there was a knock at the door. I froze. I thought that the guy had finally found me. I turned toward Eddie. He froze too. But then he sniffed the air and relaxed. He looked at me and smiled.

" Its fine. Its just Nick. I better go see what he wants. Put on the shirt then come out so you can meet him ok?" He said. I nodded. Then leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead. Then he left the room.

Eddie left the room, I could here him open the door. "What? I was busy." He said. I was guessing he was talking to Nick.

Nick went on to say something about a woman in a murder case that was actually a spider. I shivered. I hated spiders. Realizing I was just standing there in the middle of the bedroom, I quickly took off my tank top and put on the shirt that Eddie had given me. I rolled my tank top in my jacket and left it on the bed, I could get it later. I looked in the mirror that Eddie had on the wall. I laughed, because I was swimming in the shirt. 'Oh well, better go meet Nick.'

I walked out into the living room to see a man sitting on the couch next to Eddie. He was shorter than Eddie but still taller than me. He had brown straight hair that stopped at his ears, and he had gray eyes. He was wearing jeans, a v-neck, and a leather jacket. He was handsome. ' I did not just think that!'

Seeing that they hadn't noticed me, and Nick was still talking. I thought that maybe I should let them know I was there. I looked at Eddie, figuring I could talk to him first.

"Eddie. This shirt looks like its eating me." I laughed. Nick stopped talking and Eddie looked at me. Finally they noticed me, though Eddie didn't look as surprised as Nick did. He had probably smelled me.

"Uh? Hello?" Nick said. He looked confused. But I could understand that. I was a stranger in his friends house. He had also been looking at the shirt I was wearing. I think he realized that it was Eddie's shirt, and his eyes widened. He turned towards Eddie.

"Monroe? Who's your friend, you didn't tell me you had company? Nick asked. The way he stressed company made me realize that he thought I had slept with Eddie. I cringed. ' Does he really think I am that type of girl. I mean do I look like that' I quickly looked down at myself. I did have a mans shirt on. And I guessed I did look a little tired from running earlier. ' Oh God! I look like a slut!' I blushed and looked at my feet.

Eddie must have noticed the way Nick had said company too, because he blushed also then quickly looked at me. He saw that I wasn't looking at either of them. He turned towards Nick.

"Man! No! I just met her today." Eddie exclaimed. Then he sighed. " Nick this is Danielle. Danielle this is Nick." He introduced us. I finally looked up at Nick and smiled. Then I put out my hand.

"Um, Hi. Its nice to meet you. You can call me Danni though" I said.

"Yea. Same to you." Nick replied shaking my hand. Then he looked at Eddie again. I'm guessing he wanted a explanation. " So, how did you guys meet?" He asked.

Eddie went on to explain what had happened, and that yes, I knew what he was, and no, I wasn't a Grimm. I put in a comment or two along the way. Nick sat there listening to everything. Never saying anything. I was glad that it didn't seem like he didn't believe my story. I hoped that he could help me with the man that chased me.

" Wow! That's really some story. Its awesome that I found someone that is like me. I thought I only had Monroe to talk to." He laughed. And looked at Eddie. " Not that I don't like talking to you man." Then he looked at me again. " But it sounds like the guy that was chasing you was a reptile or something. You said it wasn't a snake so, I will have to look in my books. I do still have one question though?" He said.

"Sure." I shrugged. I didn't think it could be anything bad. He seemed nice enough. I actually really liked his aura. It was like Eddie's. Warm and comforting, like a blanket. I knew I was safe with both of them.

" Why do you have Monroe's shirt on?" He asked.

"Oh, I was wearing a red tank top and it made Eddie uncomfortable so I put my jacket on. But then I got hot. So Eddie let me borrow this." I looked at the shirt again. I laughed because I was sure I looked ridiculous. I finally looked at Eddie again. He hadn't said anything since telling Nick why I was there. He seemed to just be watching me and Nick converse. I smiled at him.

" So, what were you and Nick talking about Eddie?" I asked.

Eddie sighed, then looked at Nick who had perked up. I think Eddie was slightly irritated about hearing about this creature.

"We were talking about a Spinnetod. It's a spider." Eddie said.

I shivered. "I hate spiders."

"I'm right there with ya." Eddie said. " But as I was going to tell Nick. I don't know a lot about them, but I do know someone who does. We can go visit her tomorrow." He looked at Nick. " She should be able to tell you what you want to know."

"Good. I need to wrap this case up." He slapped Eddie on the back. " Man, I don't know what I would do without you." He told Eddie.

" Probably get killed." Eddie mumbled. I was getting tired of standing so I went and sat next to Nick and Eddie. Which was a little weird because the only space was in the middle.

" Sorry, but I was getting tired of standing." I told both of them. They shook their heads and said it was fine. I smiled at both of them.

We all talked for awhile. I told Nick about me and why I was in Portland. He talked about himself, what it was like to be a Grimm, and told me about his girlfriend Juliette, who he thought I would like to meet. I told him she sounded really nice and couldn't wait to meet her.

" So Danni, I am going to go check out your house. Just to make sure no one is lingering around. Ill call you to let you know if its ok to go back." Nick said.

"That's fine. I'm sure Eddie wont mind, now that I already interrupted his morning." I looked at Eddie. " Will you Eddie?" I smiled.

" Yea, yea. Its fine" Eddie waved his hand in the air.

"Do you want my number. That way you have it." I asked Nick.

"Yea, thanks." He took out his cell phone and I gave him my number. Him and Eddie talked a little more about the spider. And set up plans for tomorrow. Eddie asked me if I would like to go. I said sure. I liked that I made friends here. I thought it would be more difficult then this. Even though I missed Maci, I knew I was going to be happy here.

Nick said bye, and that he would call later when it was safe for me to go back home. Eddie showed him out then came back to sit on the couch.

"So?" He asked and rubbed the back of his neck. Apparently my stomach decided to answer for me, because it rumbled. I has remembered that I hadn't ate all morning and it was pushing 8:30. I looked at Eddie and blushed.

He actually laughed at me. " Well I guess you're hungry. I am too. Lets find something to eat." He stood up and started to walk into what I guessed was that kitchen. I got up and followed him. Looking around, I found that he had a really nice kitchen. ' Guess he likes to cook.'

I saw him bend forward looking in the fridge. He grabbed some eggs and butter. Then put that stuff on the counter and got some bread out. Then he glanced back at me.

" Hope you like eggs and toast. I already told you I don't eat meat, sorry." He smiled sheepishly.

" That's fine. I don't eat a lot of meat. Just fish." I told him.

He nodded then went back to what he was doing. He was now at the stove and got out a pan. He started cooking. I wasn't paying attention anymore because I was thinking about everything that had happened.

I thought I would hate moving here. It was different. I missed Maci. Then everything changed because some creature decided to chase me this morning. I made two new friends, one that happened to be a Blutbad. I actually didn't mind moving here anymore. I still missed Maci but I think Eddie and Nick were going to make up for that. I smiled to myself. Yea, I think I might like it here. I just hoped work was going to go just as good. I heard someone clear their throat. I jumped a little bit in my chair. Looking up I saw Eddie with a plate in his hands and an amused look in his eyes.

"Oh! Thanks." I said, taking the plate away from him and sitting it in front of me. He handed me a fork and napkin too.

" You want something to drink. I got water, juice, and milk?" He asked.

"Water's fine." I answered. Then looked down at my food. It looked really good. My stomach rumbled again. I looked at Eddie who had a pitcher of water. He was headed back to the table. I saw that there was already two glasses on it. ' What all did he do while I was thinking? I must have looked stupid just staring into space.' Eddie sat down across from me and filled both glasses up with water and sat one in front of me.

" I hope you like it. it's the best I could do, I have to go to the store soon." He said, and looked at me, waiting for me to taste it. I picked up my fork and cut into the egged. They were over easy. Just how I liked them. I cut a piece of toast up too . I ate it, it tasted so good. I knew it was just eggs and toast but I was starving.

" Ibts gud." I said with my mouth full. I realized this and quickly swallowed and blushed. "Sorry." I said looking at Eddie. He laughed. And started eating his food. We both ate in silence. I ate quickly. We both finished around the same time. Looking up at Eddie I saw that he was standing up and holding his hand out for my plate. I gave it to him and mumbled another thank you.

I sat there quietly while he washed our dishes. I drank some of my water. I would have offered to help but I had a feeling he wasn't going to let me anyway. I saw him finish up and he headed back over to the table and sat down.

"Um. Thank you for everything Eddie. The food was delicious and you have been really nice to me. I cant thank you enough." I told him.

"It's no problem. You needed help. Though I have to tell you. I usually don't talk to strangers. Its just easy to keep up my lifestyle if I don't interact with a lot of people. But there is Nick. He manages to worm his way in here even if I don't want him too." Eddie said.

"Huh? I think you might like having Nick as a friend. And I think you are going to like having me as a friend." I told him and smiled. I just couldn't help smiling around him. I was so comfortable here.

"You might be right. I guess if I have to have friends, then you and Nick are perfect for that." He laughed. " So. I did say that I needed to go to the store. You want to come with me? Nick hasn't called yet, so you should probably hang out here for awhile." He said.

" You're probably right. Ill go to the store with you, could be fun." I shrugged.

" You obviously haven't been shopping with me. Nick went with me one time and he practically fell asleep then yelled at me about eating expensive crap and walking like a grandpa." He said with a irritated look on his face. I laughed. He was just funny looking when he did that.

"Its okay. I do the same thing. Maci hated going shopping with me. She once accused me of getting food, knowing she wasn't going to eat it, so that she would starve. Then she said all I eat is grass, and that I could at least buy her some cheese puffs or something. I mean she is a rabbit. I thought it was hilarious that she said I ate grass. I told her that and she didn't talk to me all day. Then I got her cheese puffs and she forgave me." I told him while I was laughing. He started laughing too.

" Well we might as well go. Its still early. But I need to go get some clothes on. Are you going to be fine wearing that." He gestured to my outfit.

"Yea." I stood up and tied the shirt in a knot behind me so it wasn't so long and baggy. "There all better." I looked at him. He shook his head then headed off for his bedroom. I went to sit on the couch. I had decided to leave my keys here because I really didn't need them. I wanted to take my phone incase Nick called. But I didn't have anywhere to put it. I was going to ask Eddie if he could hold onto it for me. I waited about 5 minutes for Eddie to change. He came out in the most funniest thing I have ever seen a man wear. Yet it was so Eddie. He was wearing tan slacks, brown loafers, a light blue button up and a dark blue sweater vest that had leaves on it. I couldn't help it I laughed.

" No wonder Nick calls you grandpa. Do you always wear those kinds of clothes?" I asked. He looked at me then looked down at his outfit.

" I happen to like my clothes. Why do you have a problem with them. Want me to go change?" He asked.

"No, you look fine. I was just asking. You normally don't see a man younger then 60 wearing something like that." I told him.

He actually smiled. " Well actually I am 63 years old. So I guess I am dressed for my age." He laughed.

"There is no way you are 63 you don't look a day over 30!" I exclaimed.

" Well if you paid attention to your friend about Blutbad, you would have known we age slower then humans. Most creatures do, but Blutbad more then others. By the time I am 90 Ill look only a few years older." He told me.

" Wow. You know Maci did mention that. It was just weird hearing you say that. Anyway we are wasting time. Im ready." I told him. " Oh wait! You think you can hold on to my phone , I want to take it just incase Nick calls, but I don't have pockets?"

" Sure , give it here." He held out his hand and I gave him my phone. Then he went to the door and got his keys where they were hanging up and opened the door. " You comin?" He asked. I smirked. Then ran past him out the door and waited by his car. Which was a yellow old fashion bug. It was cute. But don't tell Eddie I said that.

"Come on old man! Times a' wastin!" I yelled and giggled. I saw him scowl at me and stick what looked like his cell phone in his other pocket. Then turned around and locked the door. Then he jogged to the car and unlocked the door. Getting in he reached over and unlocked my door. Getting in we both put on our seat beats and Eddie started the car.

We pulled out of the drive. Then I looked over to Eddie. He was frowning.

" Eddie I was just playing around. You are not old, I mean you are but , you don't look old." I said to him.

He ignored my apology. " You want to listen to the radio? I don't know what you like, you can find something. I usually listen to classical." He told me.

" Uh. Sure." I fiddled with the dial until I found the station I was looking for. A new song started playing. ' I love this song.' I started bopping my head up and down to the song. Eddie was glancing at me and trying to hide his smile. I saw it though and decided to cheer him up. I started to sing along with the radio.

" insert song lyrics." I sang. Then I started playing the air guitar. I was really getting into it. I looked at Eddie and saw he was smiling. I figured I might as well finish. So, I started doing air drums and belting out more of the song. " more song lyrics." By now Eddie was tapping the beat on the steering wheel and singing softly along with me. I poked him in the arm to tell him to sing louder. The end of the song was coming and now both Eddie and me were singing loudly and I went back to playing the air guitar while Eddie hit the beat on the steering wheel.

The song finally ended and a softer song started playing. I looked at Eddie then bust out laughing. He laughed with me.

" Oh God! That was so much fun." I said, while still giggling.

" Yea. I love that song. But I have never had anyone to sing with. Well I have never sung a song out loud like that since I was younger." He told me.

"Well you were great. I love that song too. We should do that more often. I actually like singing to songs like that all the time. Though its usually Maci that's singing with me." I said.

" You were good too. It was fun though. Hey, tell me more about your friend Maci. You mentioned her before, what's she like?" He asked.

" Hmm. Well she is my best friend. She is a rabbit creature , but I already told you that. I met her 4 years ago when I started my old job at the publishing company. She was afraid of me at first, because she thought I was a Grimm. But we eventually grew really close and we moved in together about a year later. She is like me but I little bit shyer, she like mostly everything that I like , well, except my food. She doesn't eat like I thought a rabbit would. Um. She is pretty. She has short blonde hair and blue eyes and she is really tiny. I love her though. She is really my only family." I explained.

" Huh. Well she seems like a nice girl. Will she come visit you?" He asked.

"Yea. She is supposed to some in about 2 weeks to visit. You can meet her then if you want." I said. Then I started talking more to myself than Eddie. "You guys would get along. I think she would want to meet Nick too and maybe Juliette, once I meet her. I could have everyone over for dinner one night. Ill have to get a bigger dining room table though. Hmm. What would we eat?" I said. Then I heard Eddie laugh.

" Have a nice conversation with yourself?" He asked.

"Oh. Sorry. I do that sometimes. it's the only way I can remember things sometimes." I said embarrassedly. I blushed and giggled. Then looked away.

" Hey, its okay I do it too when I am working on my clocks." He said. Then I felt the car stop. " We're here."

I looked up and saw that we were at the store. Eddie shut off the car and unbuckled. I did the same and I opened my door. Eddie and I walked to the front of the car . Then before I could take another step forward, I saw Eddie run to the store a head of me.

" Hurry up youngster! Cant have a old man out running you!" He yelled to me while looking over his shoulder. I laughed. ' I guess he is getting me back for earlier.'

I quickly caught up to him, when he stopped in front of the store. I laughed.

" Okay you got me Eddie." I said. Eddie grabbed a cart and started towards the inside of the store. Looking around while following Eddie , I noticed that it was a health food store.

" You know I wasn't mad earlier. I was just thinking about ways to get you back." Eddie said suddenly. I stood next to him, he was looking at a package of noodles that was on a display table in the middle of the aisle.

" You really did get me. But I know you aren't old Eddie. I just like messing with you." I told him. He put the noodles in the cart and started towards the produce section. I walked behind him. Just following him where ever he was going. He stopped in front of some lettuce and spinach. Picking some up, he turned towards me.

" Do you like spinach? I happen to think its better then plain lettuce." He said. I had a feeling that he was going to give me information about everything that he picked up.

"Yea, spinach is good." I said. I got one of those plastic bags to put the spinach in and handed it to Eddie, because it looked like he was going to get it.

" Thanks." He said and put the leaves into the beg. " Do you like any veggies? I think Ill just get what I normally get." He informed me. Although I was slightly confused because he was asking me about the food. And I didn't think it mattered what I liked seeing as it was his groceries that he was getting.

He just kept walking, stopping to look at different vegetables and picking out ones that he wanted. I got him the bags for each thing he got. Just following him. Commenting when he would ask me if I liked it or listening when he spouted information about a certain carrot or potato.

We finally got all the produce we needed. We started down an aisle that had canned goods in it. Eddie past most of them. But he did pick up canned tomato sauce. Then we just kept going down different aisle. Eddie handing me things to put in the cart while he looked at different things. I could see where Nick thought this was boring. Eddie looked at everything, still telling me random things about each product.

The cart was getting pretty full. We were almost done. We had literally went down every aisle except we never went to the deli or meat section. But that was fine with me. We were in the last aisle and Eddie was looking at bread. Picking each one up , feeling it to see how soft it was. I laughed to myself.

I went further down the aisle just looking at random things. Then I heard a cell phone. I just shrugged it off because there were other people here, and most of then had to of had a cell phone. But then I heard Eddie say hello. I looked over and saw that Eddie was on the phone. But he had my phone in his hand. I thought maybe it was Nick so I walked over to him.

" This is Eddie, who is this?" I heard him say. It couldn't be Nick because he knew Eddie's voice. Which meant Eddie was talking to someone else on my phone. I thought about it and the only other person that every called me was Maci. ' Oh no! He is talking to Maci. Crap!' I tried to get Eddies attention. But he ignored me.

" This is Maci? Um, I'm Danielle's friend. Where is she? Oh she's.." Then he looked around for me, then he seen that I was right next to him. " She's right next to me. Do you want to talk to her?" He said. He was just acting like it wasn't a big deal that he was on my phone talking to my friend. Who by now probably thought that something freaky was going on because she knew how I was with guys. Eddie handed me the phone.

" Uh. Hello?" I said. I waited because I knew she was going to scream at me. I looked at Eddie. He was smirking. ' He did that on purpose.'

" Hello! That's all I get is hello! Why did that guy answer your phone?" She yelled.

" Because he was holding it for me." I answered.

" Why was he holding your phone? Who is he?" She asked. She had somewhat calmed down.

" He was holding it because I don't have any pockets. His name is Eddie, and I guess you could call him a friend." I told her.

Eddie had started walking again. So I followed him while still talking to Maci. I told her what had happened, how I met Eddie, about Nick, and that we were at the grocery store and checking out so I had to let her go and yes, I would call her later. I let Maci go and followed Eddie to the check out line.

Eddie paid for all the food and pushed the cart out the door into the parking lot. He unloaded the bags in to the trunk and put the cart in a cart coral. Then he unlocked the door and got in , letting me in and started the car. I glared at him after we both buckled up.

"I cant believe you did that." I said to him still glaring.

" What? It was an honest mistake. I thought it was my phone." He said , trying to keep a straight face. I crossed my arms and leaned back into the seat. Then turned and looked pointedly at him.

" You are such I liar! You knew! Now she thinks that Im just picking random guys off the street. Oh God, she probably thinks we are sleeping together. My best friend thinks Im a whore. No, she is going to tell everybody!" Again I started talking more to myself. " She must think I just went out and picked you up somewhere. But Im not like that! She knows that. Maybe she wont say anything. I have to call her back. I have to…" I started to panic.

" Danni! Clam down. I highly doubt your friend thinks any of that. You explained everything that happened remember?" He said.

" You're right. I did. Man, I freaked out over nothing. I still have to call her back though. Ill wait until later though." I said. I quickly went and turned the radio back on. It helped pass the time in the car as we drove back to Eddie' house. Finally we were back in the drive way. We both got out, after Eddie shut the car off and we both got armfuls of groceries. Eddie unlocked the front door and we carried the bags into the kitchen. Sitting them on the counter, Eddie and I started to unload the bags. I didn't know where anything went so I asked Eddie and he told me where to put things. After about 10 minutes everything was put away.

It was about 11:30. It was still fairly early and Nick hadn't called yet. I was wondering what I was going to do to pass the time. I couldn't go back to my house , so I decided to ask Eddie.

"Eddie? What do we do now?"

" Well I have some work to do and its still too early for lunch. So you can watch TV or there is some books in the living room you can read. I'm not really sure what you like to do." He answered.

"Oh, I guess Ill see what kind of books you have. I love to read. But if I cant find anything to read, I'm sure I can entertain myself." I laughed. And then I walked into the living room toward the bookcase. Eddie was following me. Mostly because his work station is in the living room too.

He walked over to his table and sat down. Then picked up a pocket watch, and put on his glasses. I thought they made his eyes look huge. I guess they help him see the little parts of the watch. While he tinkered around with that , I was looking at the books on the book shelf. He had a lot, but I was sure I had more. I smiled too myself. ' I definitely have more. I have a least 100 maybe more. Lets see what he has.'

I looked and seen that he had mostly had memoirs and fantasy book. Which was a weird mix, but I liked any books, so I guess they were fine. I saw one that had a nice title and picked it up. I went over to the couch and sat down. Opening the book I started reading it. It seemed like a nice book, it was about a warrior princess, who had werewolves for soldiers. I thought it was ironic that Eddie had a book about werewolves. I laughed out loud to myself. Eddie looked up from working and looked over at me.

" What are you laughing for? You find a good book?" He asked. Looking funny in his glasses that I was sure obscured his vision, so he couldn't really see me.

"Yea. Though I never really took you for a werewolf fiction type of guy." I told him and smiled.

" Oh that one. Actually Nick got it for me as a joke. I haven't read it." He said. Then he looked back to the watch. " I should only be about an hour then Ill fix something for lunch, and then if you want we can find something to do."

"It seems like a good book. And sure that sounds fine. Im just wondering whats taking Nick so long?" I said.

"He probably already checked your house but got called away by the station for something and hasn't had the chance to call. I'm sure everything is fine." He reassured me.

I nodded. Then went back to reading my book. I glanced to Eddie, he was murmuring to himself and he went back to playing with the watch. I don't know how he did that. It was so little. And it cant be easy to fix those things. I shrugged to myself.

I had read about a third of the book when Eddie finally got up from the table. It hadn't been that long so he must have been stretching or something. I saw him head in the direction toward the bedroom. I realized he was probably going to the bathroom. I blushed. ' Of course he goes to the bathroom. He is human. I mean wolf. Whatever even wolves have to pee.' Thinking about that I started to squirm. ' Great now I have to go.'

I waited for Eddie to come back into the room then before he could sit down I stood up.

"Where is the bathroom?" I asked.

"Oh, its next to the bedroom. it's the only other door , so you cant miss it." He answered.

"Thanks." I mumbled and headed out of the living room. Turning right I walked into the bathroom. It was simple. Big for a bathroom. It had a separate tub and shower. A double sink. It was really nice. Closing the door. I went about my business. Finishing I washed my hands and walked back out the door, shutting off the light on my way out.

I walked back into the living room, sitting on my spot on the couch. Then opened the book back up. Glancing at one of the clocks in the room , I noticed it was 12:15. Time had went by faster then I thought. Eddie looked like he was finishing up the watch.

I stood up and walked over to Eddie. He had just finished putting the facing back on the watch. He took off his glasses, looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back at him. I was just really happy to have him as a friend. Him and Nick. He stood up and walked towards the kitchen. He motioned to me to follow him.

I walked into the kitchen and saw him getting some of the groceries that we got, out. I sat down at the table just content in watching him. But apparently he had different plans.

"Hey lazy! Why don't you come over here and chop up some veggies while I make some soup?" He asked. I laughed at him and walked over to the cutting board on the counter. I grabbed the knife he handed me and started chopping. He had set out carrots, radishes, and cucumbers. There was already spinach and sprouts in a bowl. I kept chopping. Adding the veggies to the bowl when I was done. Eddie was still at the stove making soup.

"What kind of soup are you making?" I asked. I had just finished chopping everything and put the cutting board and knife in the sink.

"I hope you like tofu?" He asked. And stopped stirring long enough to look at me. I nodded to him. "Good. I am making tofu and noodles. My take on chicken and noodles. Are you finished chopping?" He asked.

"That sounds good. Yea, everything is in the bowl." I told him.

"Ok. This should be done in about 10 minutes, let me grab some plates and we'll start on the salad." He said.

I grabbed the silverware Eddie handed to me and set them on the table. Then sitting in my spot , I waited for Eddie to bring the salad over. He had already plated it and gave me my plate. He had also brought the bowl over and put it on the table. Then he checked on the soup one last time before joining me at the table.

" Thanks." I told him. I looked at the table seeing that he had brought a couple different bottles of dressing. Picking one that looked good, I put some on my salad, then dug in. It was really good.

" This is good." I said gesturing to my plate. Seeing him nod, I went back to eating. I heard something beep, and saw Eddie get up. I was guessing that the soup was done. I got up then to help him get bowls out and took them over to the stove. Eddie ladled the soup in the bowls. I carried both over to the table, putting them next to our plates. I sat back down and looked up to see Eddie carrying spoons. He handed me one then sat down.

Eddie was staring at me. I figured he wanted to see my reaction to the soup. So I picked up my spoon, blew on it because it was hot, then took a bite. It was really yummy. I hummed and took another bite.

" Eddie, this is the best tofu soup I have ever had. Really its yummy." I told him. I smiled at him.

"Well, thanks. Ever since I stopped eating meat I had too think of new ways to cook food without it becoming boring. Nick says he wont like anything that I make, but I told him he hasn't even tried my food so he wouldn't know. But I guess he is fine eating fast food." He told me shrugging. Then he went to eat some of his soup.

"Well, I have a feeling like Nick will at least try your food if I'm around. I will make him. You just watch." I said laughing. Then went back to eating my soup. I had already finished my salad, so I just focused on my soup. It was really good. I quickly finished eating.

" So what are we going to do today Eddie?" I asked him. He had just finished his meal and was picking up the dishes. He grabbed mine too. I stood up and followed him to the sink. I figured I could help him at least dry them. He looked over at me while washing a plate.

" Well I figure I can show you the town a bit, since you just moved in. Just until Nick calls. Then if you still want to hang out after that then we will decide what to do, kay?" He asked. He just finished the last dish and handed it to me to dry. I dried it and gave it to him to put up.

"That's fine." I answered. Eddie wanted to go now so we got ready. Eddie grabbed his keys and phone. I handed him my phone again. Then we went out the door, Eddie locking it behind us. We got into the car and drove off. I didn't know where we were going so I just set back and watched out the window.

We started coming into what was downtown Portland. There was a lot of buildings. Eddie pointed out the best places to eat, where there was some places to shop and even showed me where I was going to work. I was glad that he did because I would have gotten lost on my first day.

Eventually Eddie parked in front of some of the buildings. He shut off the car and told me to get out, that we were going to walk for a bit. We headed down the sidewalk, towards an antique shop.

"I want to stop in here, if that's okay with you. I always like seeing if they have any new clocks, or just anything that catches my eye." He said. I shrugged and said that was fine, because I wanted to look around too, for things for my house.

We walked in, the bell ringing on top of the door. An old man was sitting behind the front counter. Eddie started to walk towards where the clocks were. I veered to a large china cabinet that I thought would look really nice in my living room or dining room. I looked at the price tag. It said 300. I was sure I could get it lower. But I would have to come back another day because I didn't have my wallet with me. And I highly doubted the thing was going to fit in Eddies bug.

So I walked over to Eddie, where he was talking to the old man, who was the owner. Eddie was gesturing to a small mantle clock. I looked at it. It was very beautiful and as I looked closer, I saw that in the wood was carved wolves under the clock face. No wonder Eddie wanted it. I looked at the price tag . I said 150. I think Eddie was trying to get a lower price. I stood next to Eddie looking at the old man.

"Eddie? Are you going to get this?" I asked after he was done talking. He looked at me, so did the old man.

" I think so. But I don't want to pay that much for it. So I was trying to talk to the owner to see if I could get a lower price." He told me. He gestured towards the old man. I smiled at him.

"Well how much is he wanting for it?" I asked.

"150." Eddie answered. " But I cant afford that."

I turned to the old man and looked at him. He looked very shy and timid. I think Eddie was making him nervous because he was shaking slightly. Then out of no where his face shifted. He was a mouse. ' I should have known.'

"Um, Hi. Mister..?" I said, hoping he would give me his name.

" Wilks. Timothy Wilks." The old man answered. Now he was even more nervous. Its like he was waiting for me and Eddie to attack him or something. I held out my hand.

" Well then. Hello Mister Wilks. This is a lovely shop you have here." I said. He hesitantly shook my hand. I smiled at him again. Hoping to calm him down. It helped, because he smiled back a little.

"Yes. Thank you. As I was telling Mister Monroe here. I simply cannot lower the price on this piece. I just got it in yesterday." said. I nodded. I could understand that. He just wanted to be able to sell it at the highest price possible.

"I understand that. But as you already know Eddie, or uh Mister Monroe buys a lot of your clocks. He is a repeating customer. So even if you try selling it at its highest price he will just wait until you lower it anyway. He really is determined to get this clock." I told him. I was wanting him to see that Eddie just wasn't going to back down.

Mister Wilks looked thoughtful for a moment. Then smiled at me. I had guessed that my charm worked. He turned toward Eddie. He waved his hand to the clock and Eddie picked it up. We followed him to the front counter where he rang up the purchase. Putting the clock safely in a bag, he gave Eddie the bag. Eddie paid, and thanked him. I waved to the mouse and also said thank you. Then me and Eddie headed out the door.

" That was amazing!" Eddie said quickly and gave me a hug. Or the best hug he could give seeing as he had a bag in his hand. " Thank you."

" Its no problem. I saw how much you wanted it." I told him. Waving it off as nothing.

"No, really thanks." He said. We were walking back to the car. We got in and Eddie put the bag in the back seat. He started the car and we drove down the street. As we were driving. I heard my phone go off. Eddie reached for his pocket and pulled out the phone. He handed it to me. I flipped the phone open.

"Hello? Hey Nick. Yea, everything is fine. You did? That's great. No, Im still with Eddie. Yea Ill ask." I turned towards Eddie. And covered the mouth piece on my phone." Hey Nick wants to come over here in a bit. You care?" I asked. He looked really confused. Then just shook his head. I went back to the phone. " Nick? He said that was fine. Kay. We'll see you. Bye." I shut my phone. Then looked back to Eddie.

"Why would he ask? I mean any other time he just comes over uninvited. What did he say?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, just that he looked at my house and It didnt look like anybody had been there or around there, so that it was safe to go back." I told him.

" Oh, that's great." He said. But he sounded a bit off put. I grabbed his hand. He looked surprised but didn't say anything.

"Don't worry Eddie. I still want to hang out with you. Im not going to ditch you just because my house is now safe." I told him. Then let go of his hand. He nodded. And smiled. Of course I smiled back.

We pulled into Eddies drive. He shut off the engine then got out and grabbed his bag. I got out too and followed him back into the house. He sat his keys down and walked over to the couch. Then plopped down. I laughed a little and copied his movement. I toed off my shoes and put my feet in his lap. He didn't move them so I guessed it was fine.

"So. What do we do now Ed-die?" I asked. Stressing his name, because I felt in a playful mood. I also poked him in the leg with my foot. All of a sudden he grabbed my foot and got a really big smirk on his face.

"No Eddie! Don't!" I cried. But it was too late. He started tickling my foot. I kicked and screamed. I tried twisting, but he was too strong. "S-stop! Please! Im going to pee myself! Ahhh!" I was laughing but I hated being tickled. Eddie was ignoring my plea. I had to do something.

I tried one more time to twist out of his grasp. I finally got my foot loose. But instead of running away, I pounced on him. I started tickling his stomach and anywhere else I could find. He was laughing really hard. I knew he could have gotten away but I think he was having fun. He started tickling me back.

We were so engrossed in our playing that we never heard the knock at the door, or the door opening. We also never heard someone entering the living room. And really didn't notice that person standing there staring at us. But the fun ended when that person cleared their throat.

I quickly snapped my head around. There was Nick standing there, looking like he wanted to laugh. I glared at him. He started laughing. I couldn't help it, I hurried off Eddie lap and tackled Nick to the ground. I sat on him and started tickling him.

"So you thought that was funny mister! Ill show you funny." I yelled at him. He was struggling, and he would have gotten free if Eddie hadn't of come and held his wrists over his head. I smiled at Eddie quickly then went back to glaring at Nick.

" Danni! Eddie! Stop, I thought we were friends! I cant breathe." He said wheezing. I decided that he had, had enough. So I stopped tickling him. And Eddie let go of his hands. But I still sat on him.

" So Nick? Have a fun day?" I asked innocently. I looked down at Nick and smiled. He was glaring at me but he was also still laughing so I knew he wasn't mad.

"No, actually I didn't. I had to arrest the husband of the Spinnetod because we didn't have the right evidence." He said sighing. He looked like he wanted to sit up so I scoot back so I was sitting on his legs.

"Im sorry! I probably didn't make it any better did I?" I told him. I gave him a hug. Nick hugged me back and just held me for a bit. Then he gently pulled back.

" No, you made it a little better actually, that and I remembered that we are going to see that friend of Eddies tomorrow." He said. I got up so he could stand up and Eddie helped him to his feet. We all went to the couch and sat down. Me in the middle again.

"Anything else happen? And why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the station doing paperwork or something?" I asked, because I was really curious. Eddie looked over to him too.

"Its my lunch break, so I figured I would just come here. Juliette has a surgery to do, or I would have went over there." He said.

"Oh, are you hungry.?" I asked then looked to Eddie. " You still have some soup left don't you, we could heat it up." I asked Eddie. He nodded. Then went into the kitchen. I grabbed Nicks hand and lead him to the table. I told him to sit down. I stood against the island while Eddie put some soup into a bowl and heated it up in the microwave. After it was done he headed over to the table and gave Nick the soup. Then Eddie joined me by the island. We watched Nick take the first bite.

I glanced over to Eddie and smirked. I knew that he had caught on. We turned back to Nick who was gobbling up the soup. After a few minutes he finished the soup and pushed the bowl away from him. He looked up at us.

"That was awesome . Thanks." He said. Me and Eddie looked at each other then at Nick.

" Im glad you liked that Nick. But I thought you never ate anything Eddie fixed?" I asked. I saw Nick pale.

"Monroe made the soup? Uh." He said. I smiled at him.

"Yea, Eddie made it. I didn't know you liked tofu so much Nick." I told him laughing.

"Tofu. That's what I ate. But. I….Man!" Nick exclaimed.

"Now you cant say that you don't like anything that Eddie cooks, because you do." I told him.

"I guess." He said the he turned to Eddie. " Man, Im sorry I never tried your food. Its just I thought it was going to taste like cardboard or something. You know all healthy and stuff." He said , rubbing the back of his neck. He glanced at the floor.

"Dude, its fine. Before I became Weider I would have never touched anything like that. Some people just really don't like it. You never hurt my feelings, I had just wished that you would have tried it first before saying anything." Eddie told him.

"Yea, it took me a long time to get used to it. I only started eating it about 3 years ago." I told him. I hoped I could make him feel better. He was looking at us again. " Just next time Eddie offers you something, try it." I told him. Then I turned to Eddie. "I told you I would get him to eat it. I feel like you should owe me something now. What will it be?" I said while laughing.

Both Nick and Eddie looked at me strangely before laughing with me. Eddie went and took the bowl and started washing it. I took Nick back into the living room and sat down on the couch. Eddie finally joined us and we started talking.

Eddie told him about us going to the grocery. Nick asked if I had died a little going with him. I laughed and told him that I had fun. I told him about Maci calling and told him a little bit about her, and that she was coming to visit in a few weeks. Eddie told him about the clock he bought, and how I talked to the owner. Nick laughed and said it was womanly charm that got him. I glared at him.

"It was not. I was just nice to him. He probably thought I saved him from Eddie. He looked like Eddie was going to eat him." I said still glaring at both of them, because Eddie had started laughing too. I crossed my arms, pouted, and leaned back into the couch.

"Really Danni, you are going to pout? What are you 5?" Nick asked. Oh, he didn't know what pouting was. ' Ill show him. Time to bring out the water works.'

"No, Im not pouting, Im 25 thank you!" I said then stuck my lip out even more. I willed tears into my eyes. They wanted pouting, I was going to give it to them. " You guys are so mean." I cried.

They saw my face and looked panicked. Inside I was laughing but on the outside it looked like I was having a break down. They were murmuring to each other. Trying to figure out what to do to stop me from crying. They rubbed my back and told me to stop. I just kept going.

" Danni, please stop. I didn't mean it." Nick said, trying to calm me down.

" Yea, Nick didn't mean it. I tell you what if you stop crying , tonight we will do anything you want. Nick will even come with us, wont you Nick?" Eddie said. Looking at Nick who was nodding his head.

"Yea, we will go do something." Nick answered. They both were so gullible. I looked at them through teary eyes.

"Really? Anything?" I asked. They both nodded and said anything. I quickly stopped my act , and it looked like I had never even been crying. I looked at both of them. " I want to go bowling. Tonight. And Juliette comes with us." I told them.

" You! How?" Eddie asked. Nick to was wondering but he just stared.

" You guys said anything I want." I told them.

"Fine, we will go bowling." Eddie said. Then looked at Nick , waiting for him to answer.

"Okay, Ill ask Juliette. Im sure she will come." Nick said. I cheered and hugged both of them.

"Yay! Its going to be so much fun. Its been forever since I went bowling." I told them. They both just smiled and hugged me back at my excitement.

We all talked for a little bit. Then Nick had to go back to work. He said he would call later to let us know about bowling. After Nick left, me and Eddie sat back down on the couch. I put my feet back in his lap. We just sat there watching TV. I knew Eddie wanted to ask me something, because he was staring at me.

"What?" I said him. He turned to look at me. He just shrugged.

"No, really Eddie what's up? You have been staring at me for the last 10 minutes." I told him.

" Its just. You don't have to stay here if you don't want to, you can go home and wait for Nick to call." He said. He was frowning and not looking me in the eye.

I was mad, how could he say that. I stood up really fast and went over to him. I leaned over him looking at him in the eyes. Then I punched him in the chest. He flinched back from it but I think it was more out of surprise then hurt.

"You are stupid!" I told him , still standing over him. " If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't. Did ever ask yourself that maybe I liked hanging out with you?" I asked him. I knew he needed more reassurance then that, so I sat down in his lap. I put my hands on either side of his face.

"Eddie, really. I love hanging out with you. I love that I have friends that I can relate too. You and Nick are the best things to happen to me so far." I told him.

"You really are something you know that?" He laughed. Then he pulled me into a hug. It was nice. I felt safe. Then he pulled out of the embrace.

"So? What are you going to do until we go bowling?" He asked. I had shifted back to my side of the couch and put my feet back on his lap.

"I don't know. I didn't really think about it." I said to him. The excitement from today was wearing down a little. I wasn't tired but I felt until we went bowling the rest of my time was going to be slow.

"Hmm. Well do you still have stuff that needs unpacked at your house?" He asked me. I did still have a lot to unpack. And I hated having to do it all by myself. I smiled at Eddie.

"Why? You going to help me?" I asked. Then poked him again with my foot. He didn't tickle me this time, but just laughed, and shoved my foot away.

"Your feet stink! And yea if you want some help. We have to pass the time somehow and I don't have any clocks to do." He looked at me, waiting for an answer. I knew he just wanted to spend time with me. I shrugged.

"Sure. I still have basically all the house to unpack." I told him, then I remembered what he said first. "My feet do NOT stink Eddie Monroe! You take that back." Then I poked him with my foot one last time.

" I'm Blutbad, we have enhanced senses, so yea your feet stink." He was laughing. I couldn't believe him. He was having fun again.

"Whatever!" I huffed. Then crossed my arms in front of me. I glanced over to him. "So when you want to do this?" I asked.

" Right now is good if you want?" He said. Then started getting off the couch. I hopped up to.

"Yea. Now is good." I said. Then I got my keys that I had left on the coffee table. " Do you know where I put my phone?" I asked. He pointed to the kitchen. I went in and saw my phone on the counter. I quickly grabbed it. Then I remembered something. I hurried past Eddie and into the bedroom, where I found my jacket and top still on the bed. I grabbed them and went back into the living room.

"Are you ready now?" Eddie asked. I nodded. He went to the front door for the third time today and waited for me to follow him out. He locked up then headed to his car.

"Eddie we can just walk. Its like 2 blocks down." I told him. Then started walking down the side walk. I looked back hoping he would follow me. He was, even if he didn't look to sure about it. I stopped walking long enough for him to catch up.

He still looked really hesitant. I watched him a little. Then I saw his eyes widen. I looked where is eyes where trained. It was a little girl hand in hand with another little girl. But the one was wearing a red dress. I looked at Eddie. He looked really panicked. They were coming straight for us. I had to think of something. He had started to shift. I quickly grabbed is hand and was leaning myself on him.

"Eddie its fine. You are okay. You are not going to hurt them. Trust me." I told him. The girls were getting closer. I looked up at Eddie. His face had shifted back to normal. He looked relieved. He squeezed my hand. We walked right past the girls, and he didn't even flinch.

I could see my house. It was about half a block away. I still had hold of Eddies hand. I didn't think he minded. We got to my porch. I turned to look at Eddie.

"You did good." I told him. Then took my keys out, that I had put in my jacket pocket , which was still bundled up. I unlocked the door and held it open so Eddie could go ahead of me.

"Go on in. But watch out for the boxes." I said and he stepped through the doorway. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. I saw that Eddie was looking around my living room.

"This is a nice place. " He said. Then he turned toward me. " Thanks Danni, for earlier."

"Your welcome, but I didn't really do anything." I replied. Then I walked into the middle of the living room to stand next to Eddie. He had started to open some boxes. I did the same. We would open boxes and then put things away. It went on for a good few hours. We chatted during , mostly about nothing. Just asking each other simple questions. Like what's your favorite color? Your favorite movie? Favorite sport? That went on the whole time unpacking. It was getting late and we only had a few more boxes to go.

"Eddie, what time is it?" I asked. I was finishing putting the last of my books on a shelf.

"Um. Almost 4." He told me. We had been at this for a good 3 hours. It was a good thing all my big stuff was already set up and that the house wasn't very big.

"I think we can stop. I can get these last few boxes later, they are just my books." I told him.

"Those 3 huge boxes have books in them?" He exclaimed. He quickly opened one and peered inside. His eyes widened. " I thought we just unpacked 2 boxes of books? Why do you have so many?" He asked.

" I have 2 book shelves in my room. I like to read." I shrugged. He was still staring at the box.

" That is..wow! I don't even know." He said.

"You don't think its weird do you?" I asked.

"No! Its awesome. I just didn't know someone could have this many books." He told me.

"Yea well, like I said I will put these up later. I need to take a shower. So I can come back to your place when I am done?" I said.

" Oh yea. No problem. I have to get one as well. So Ill see you in a little bit." He said and started walked to the front door.

"Wait! Are you going to be okay walking back home?" I asked. He didn't like it earlier.

"I should be fine. I don't think I will see any more red today." He answered. I walked up to him and gave him a hug, just to let him know that he would be fine. He squeezed me back.

"Ill see you ok?" I asked while walking him out the front door. He was down by the side walk.

"Yea see you Danni!" He yelled then went on his way.

I hurried back inside. I had to get a shower then figure out what to where. I was so excited. Not just for going bowling, but because I got to meet Juliette and hang out with Eddie and Nick. I ran to my bedroom and looked through my clothes. I through what I picked on the bed and then walked into my bathroom.

I got in the shower and washed. I got out dried my body and wrapped my hair up in a towel. I went into my bedroom and put on some panties and a bra, they were this cute purple set that I got awhile ago. Then I went back into the bathroom. I skipped my usual lotion routine and settled for this plain unscented kind , because I knew that Eddies nose was sensitive. Then I unwrapped my hair and started to blow dry it. I decided that after I had dried my hair that I was just going to leave it down and natural.

I quickly put some light makeup on, just some mascara and lip gloss. Then went into my bedroom to get dressed. I had picked an old high school t shirt , and a pair of jeans. Then put on a pair of tennis shoes. I knew that going bowling I was going to end up wearing bowling shoes but tennis shoes worked for now. I looked in the mirror one last time. I looked cute. I wasn't going for looking sexy. I wanted to be comfortable. I nodded to myself then went into the living room. I got my jacket, then got my keys and phone.

I just started to open my door when my phone decided to go off. I answered it , while closing my door behind me and locking it.

"Hello? Oh hey Nick. Yea. Im heading back over to Eddie's. She is? That's great. Ill tell Eddie. What time did you want to go? 7? That sounds fine. Yea we can get something before. Ok. See you at Eddies. Bye." I was walking the whole time I was on the phone, so by the time I got off the phone with Nick I was at Eddie's door. I knocked.

I heard foot steps, then Eddie answered the door. My eyes widened. He was in a towel. Just a towel. I squeaked and shut my eyes.

"Eddie!" I said. I felt him grab onto my shoulders and lead my into the living room. Then I heard his footsteps go towards the bedroom.

"Sorry!" He yelled. " I didn't know you were going to be here so soon."

"Well, I got done a lot faster then I thought I would!" I yelled back. I still had my eyes shut so I opened them. My heart was beating really fast.

" Ill be out there in a minute." Eddie yelled again. I jumped at his voice.

"Okay!" I yelled back. I was freaking out. Sure Eddie was my friend, but I had never seen a guy in just a towel before. I have seen guys at the swimming pool. But him being in a towel just seemed more intimate. Before I had shut my eyes I got a good look at his chest. I guess Pilates really worked. Because under those grandpa sweaters Eddie was trimmed. I was thinking of his chest when I heard someone walk into the room.

"Hey." Eddie said. He was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and an unbuttoned flannel. They looked really nice. And I was glad he wasn't wearing a sweater bowling.

"Hey." I said. " Um. Nick called. Juliette is coming with us. He will be here around 7, so we can get something to eat first, then we're going to head to the bowling alley."

"Okay. That's fine. Are we just driving in separate cars?" He asked.

"I didn't ask. But I guess we could that way Nick and Juliette don't have to drive all the way back here to drop us off." I told him.

"Alright. So?" He asked. There was a slight tension in the room, I needed it to be gone.

"So? What no grandpa sweaters tonight?" I asked him, gesturing to his clothes.

"Hey! I just thought that this would be more comfortable to bowl in." He said. I laughed. The tension was gone, and we were back to how we were before.

"What do you want to do until then, we have like a half an hour." I asked him. I was still sitting on the couch. Eddie came to sit next to me.

"Hmm. Well we could watch TV or talk? I don't really have any ideas." He said. Then he leaned back further on the couch. I scooted closer and through my legs over his. Then I leaned back until I was laying on the couch. Eddie looked over at me and laughed.

"What are you doing?" He asked. Then he put his hands on my legs. I liked being able to be myself around Eddie. I was glad that he was able to be comfortable around me too. I lifted my head a little to look at him.

"I am getting comfortable. We could talk. Im not sure what to do either." I told him. I didn't like this position so I lifted my legs off Eddie and swung them around so my head was now on Eddie's lap. His eyes widened.

"What are you doing now?" He asked. I looked up at him. It was easier in this position. Which is why I chose it.

"I didn't like the other way, I couldn't see you. Do you want me to move?" I asked him. He shook his head, then moved one of his hands to my head and ran it through my hair. I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"No, you are fine." He said. His other hand was just laying there beside him so I picked it up and held it, and rested both our hands on my stomach.

"Eddie? Im glad we are friends." I told him. I looked up at his face. He smiled softly at me. Then bent down and kissed my forehead.

"Me too. Before you and Nick, I never really had friends. Well if you don't count Hap and Angelina. But you and Nick are important to me, and I like having you guys as friends." He said while he squeezed my hand.

His hand was still running through my hair and my eyes started to droop. Before I knew it, Eddie was shaking me awake.

"Danni. I need to get up Nick and Juliette are at the door." He said. Then he gently lifted my head and set me up in a sitting position. I blinked a couple times to wake myself up. I heard Eddie open the door, I hurried into the bathroom because I didn't know what I looked like. Closing the door I looked in the mirror. My hair was sticking up a little but I fixed it easily enough. Everything else looked fine.

I walked back into the living room to see Nick and Eddie standing there. Then off to the left I saw a woman about my age. It had to be Juliette. I hurried over to her.

"Hi! Im Danielle. You must be Juliette." I said and I smiled at her. She didn't seem particularly happy to be there but she smiled back anyway.

"Yes I am. Its nice to meet you Danielle." She answered. I didn't know if having her come would be such I good idea. She looked mad. Maybe she had plans with Nick and he canceled them to go wit me and Eddie. I turned to Nick and Eddie.

"So where are we off to? And do you just want to take two separate cars? That way you and Juliette wont have to bring us all the way back? I asked. I saw Nick and Eddie looking at me and Nick decided to answer.

"Actually, me and Monroe were just talking about that. I thought we could just take one car because I figured after the bowling alley we could stop somewhere and get a drink. Juliette doesn't drink so both of you could and you wouldn't have to worry about driving home." Nick said. Then he glanced over to Juliette and smiled. Juliette responded with a tight lip smile. Then she looked at me and Eddie.

"Yes, that's right. I don't drink, so you guys can have a fun time and not have to drive home." she said. She really didn't look happy about any of it. I looked at Eddie, he seemed to realize that Juliette wasn't to happy about this outing either. We didn't say anything.

"So then, shall we get going?" I asked everyone. I grabbed my jacket and put it on. My keys and phone were in the pockets. I followed everyone out of the house. Nick and Juliette went ahead. I stayed back with Eddie as he locked up, then we headed for Nicks jeep.

Once everyone was in, Nick started the engine and we were on our way. The ride was a silent one. I didn't like it very much. Eddie seemed to sense that because he nudged me with his knee. I looked at him and I could see the question in his eyes. I nodded and then leaned on him, so my head was resting on his shoulder. I looked up and saw Nicks eyes looking in mine through the rearview mirror. I smiled, so he wouldn't think anything was wrong. He smiled back but still looked concerned.

The restaurant wasn't that far away , maybe 10 minutes. I felt the car stop and saw that we were in front of a Italian restaurant. We got out of the jeep and headed towards the front entrance. Walking in, I saw that it was a casual place, not too fancy. But as I looked around, I realized that in my hast to get ready I had forgotten to bring any money. Nick was talking to a hostess and she gestured for us to follow her.

I quickly grabbed Eddies arm and pulled him to the side. I saw Nick and Juliette look at us, they were waiting. I told them to go ahead and we would catch up. I looked at Eddie and he was looking confused.

"Eddie! I forgot to bring money." I told him in a harsh whisper. " I have to leave. I cant ask them to pay for everything." I looked shamefully down at the floor. Then I snapped my head back up when I heard Eddie laugh. I punched him in the arm. " Its not funny!"

"I think it is. Listen, Im gonna pay for everything. Don't worry about it." He said. " And stop hitting me, we are in public." He looked around and saw that there was some people close to us and that they were listening to our conversation. He looked at me with this weird look on his face, then leaned in really close. " Why not save the roughness for later tonight when we get home" He said, and not quietly either.

I felt my face heat up, and my eyes widened. I looked around and saw that some of the peoples faces looked shocked, some disgusted, and some smiling. I gasp and looked back at Eddie. I couldn't believe he embarrassed me again today. I hit him in the chest a few times.

"Don't say things like that! Lets just get to the table. Nick and Juliette are probably wondering where we are." I grabbed his hand and dragged him to the place where I saw the hostess lead Nick and Juliette. I saw them at a booth near the back and walked towards it. I let go of Eddies hand and slipped into the booth. Eddie came up behind me and slid in beside me. I glared at him, and he smirked. I turned towards our company.

" So what looks good?" I asked. Nick looked at the both of us. I felt Eddie put his hand on my knee. I shoved it away. I glared at him again. But he wasn't even looking at me, he was skimming over the menu. I felt his hand again. I just sighed and left it there. I knew he would just keep doing it. Sometimes I hated being friends with him.

"Well Danni I think you might like the shrimp scampi. I have had it before and its good. Monroe might like the vegetarian lasagna they have. Its supposed to be very good, I have never had it though. Me and Juliette tend to get the same thing when we eat here." Nick told me and Eddie.

I looked at the menu and looked at everything. I decided I was going to go with Nicks pick and try it. The waitress came over and asked if we would like anything to drink, we all got water. I didn't feel like drinking before bowling. She went to go get our drinks. I noticed Juliette was looking at me and Eddie.

"So Danielle, Monroe? How did you two meet Nick?" She asked. I looked at Nick. I guess the truth would be best. I mean as much as the truth that we could tell her, that is. Eddie went on to tell her about Nick accusing him of kidnapping. Then about Nick coming a apologizing about it. Then about them getting to know each other, and him helping Nick with a case about a watch. Eddie left out a lot, but I knew that most of the stuff was Grimm related.

After Eddie was done. I went one to tell Juliette how we just met today and that Nick had helped me with the guy that was chasing me earlier. She seemed slightly surprised that we only met today. The same going with me and Eddie. I told her that I just felt comfortable around them. That seemed to please her for the moment.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, the waitress had brought out our drinks. Then she asked us if we were ready to order. Everyone nodded. I got the shrimp scampi. Eddie got the vegetarian lasagna. Juliette got the alfredo. And Nick got spaghetti and meatballs. I chuckled a bit at Nicks order. I don't think he ever ate anything out of the ordinary.

We all made small talk while waiting for our food. I asked Juliette how she liked her work. She seemed to brighten up a little at the mention of it. She asked me what I did and how I liked Portland so far, even though I had only been here two days. Then it was just back and forth after that. I was telling Juliette about the china cabinet at the antique store that I wanted.

" It was really pretty. White and kinda old looking. It would look perfect in my din…" ' What the hell!' I stopped mid sentence because I felt the hand that was one my knee move up slightly. My face got really hot and I looked over at Eddie who was in a conversation with Nick. I thought maybe he did it on accident. So I just went back to talking to Juliette.

"Are you okay? You looked a little flushed there for a second." Juliette said.

"Im fine." I told her. Though it was a bit strained because the hand went higher. I glanced again at Eddie and saw he was still talking to Nick. But this time he had that God awful smirk on his face. I knew that he was doing it on purpose. ' That jerk.'

I shook my head. " Lets change the topic. Talking about furniture is getting boring." I told her. I looked back over to Eddie. I narrowed my eyes. ' Two could play that game.'

" Eddie, what are you and Nick talking about? Anything interesting that us girls would like?" I asked. I needed to wait for the right moment. Eddie was going to wish he never started this little war. I lifted my hand , getting it ready for the attack.

"Oh, we were just talking about the football game on Sunday. It was awesome. Best plays I ever saw. I was just telling Nick that we needed to try and score tick…ets…t-to…uh." He stopped talking.

My timing was perfect. I saw him stutter and his eyes widen. Then I saw the tips of his ears get red. I had placed my hand on his thigh and squeezed. His hand was still on my leg, which after a minute he let go of. I had to stop myself from laughing. Nick was looking at Eddie curiously.

"Man, are you okay?" Nick asked.

"Yea, I'm fine." Eddie said. He coughed and looked at me.

I decided that I would let him off the hook, so I lifted my hand off his thigh. I still thought it was funny. I did feel kind of bad for almost embarrassing Eddie like that, and he didn't do any harm. I looked down and saw that his hand was under the table. I figured I could try to let him know I was sorry without having to say it out loud. I hesitantly inched my hand towards his. Then I grabbed his hand and squeezed. I hoped he would get the message. I looked at him, waiting.